Spicy Instant Pot Taco Soup Recipe

This is a recipe for the laziest nights. No joke. If you can bring yourself to chop an onion, along with a couple cloves of garlic – the rest of this taco soup creation is dump-and-stir. And it’s delicious! Here’s the deal – you can make it in an Instant Pot. You can make it on a conventional stovetop. It’s also occurring to me that it’s probably a perfect slow cooker stew as well.

The soup? It is a hearty melding of beans, and corn, and taco spices, and quinoa. I bring the creaminess and crunch factor in via the toppings – toasted pepitas for the later, ripe avocado, and a dollop of yogurt for the creamy.

If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can certainly make this on a conventional stovetop. Instead of pressure cooking simmer until the quinoa is cooked through and the ingredients come together, 30 minutes or so.

Press the SAUTE button on the Instant Pot, and press it again to bump it to SAUTE MORE. Heat the olive oil in the Instant Pot. When hot, sauté the onion and garlic until softened, 5-7 minutes. Stir in the taco seasoning. Add the quinoa, water, salt, beans, corn, tomatoes, and salsa. Press CANCEL.

Close and seal the pot, and pressure cook on MANUAL for 10 minutes (high). Carefully QUICK RELEASE. Gently shake or tap the pressure cooker, and then carefully open away from you. Taste and adjust with more salt, if needed. Serve as-is, or topped with pepitas, sliced avocado, cilantro, and salted yogurt.